Early Briefing 07.26.07

General Dynamics of Falls Church said its second-quarter profit fell 19 percent, to $513 million, but profit from continuing operations was up 23 percent, to $518 million. Revenue was up 11 percent, to $6.59 billion. The company also raised its full-year target for earnings from continuing operations to between $4.85 and $4.95 per share.

And a Seoul-based online newspaper said SK Telecom was in talks to buy Sprint Nextel, Bloomberg News reported. An SK Telecom spokeswoman said the company is not currently in talks, though it was approached by overseas investors. Two weeks ago, Korea Economic Daily said SK Telecom might participate in a bid to buy the Reston firm - a report SK Telecom also denied.